The sheep TJ has been squashing into his face to help him settle is a gorgeous thing that I bought specifically for that purpose. . . BUT it has beans in it, which means it’s not super washable. A sleep toy needs to be:
Oh so washable
Oh so replaceable (unlike Louisette’s precious panda, which is no longer being made by that company)
Not too big (it’ll need to go in the nappy bag)
Easy for tiny hands to hold
Not so ugly mum hates its guts
I happened to have bought a “Shaun the Sheep” toy online that WAS washable (as well as everything else) for TJ for Christmas, so I made a strategic decision to see if I could shift TJ’s loyalty before it solidified. It seems to have worked (the towel seems more important, but a toy is useful for a pavlovian sleep response, given that the towels are constantly present). This was their initial meeting:
